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· PLANT

Epiphyllum oxypetalum has a big flower, no pedicel. The flower was with white petals. Some Epiphyllum oxypetalums has other colors petals, like pink, blue. It has several layers of petals, usually it was four or five layers. Its leaf (also its stalk) was fusiform. Buds are at the side of the leaf (See figure 1 and figure 2). Not cold-resistant but drought-enduring. Avoid of strong light, so Epiphyllum oxypetalums always grown at warm and moist circumstance. At first, Epiphyllum oxypetalums can only be found in Mexico and Guatemala, but now widely cultivated around. Its florescence was short, usually was three to four hours after eight or nine o’clock at June to October (See video 1).

Figure 1: Photo of Epiphyllum oxypetalum

Figure 2: Photo of Epiphyllum oxypetalum plant

Video 1: The blooming of Epiphyllum oxypetalum

· PRODUCT

The appearance of Epiphyllum oxypetalum’s product looks like pitaya: covered with pink pericarp, the white pulp and the black seeds. But the product of Epiphyllum oxypetalum cannot be eaten. The flower can be eaten. (See figure 3)

Figure 3: Photo of Epiphyllum oxypetatlum's product

Making the product

The epiphyllum can be eaten. The step of stew epiphyllum is shown on flowchart 1.﻿

Flowchart 1: Steps of stew spiphyllum.

Beneficial impacts

Epiphyllum has the effect of cough, tuberculosis. It can relieve a cough, clearing away the lung-heat, and reduce phlegm. It has a prominent effect on tuberculosis.

Epiphyllum can also loose stool, detoxicate, and clearing heat.

Because Epiphyllum has a short florescence, in Chinese there was a idiom called 昙花一现(tan hua yi xian). It means a flash in the pan. Tan Hua is the phonetical spelling of Epiphyllum. The idiom refers to very short living things.

Epiphyllum's stem was a kind of Chinese medicine. It was used for clearing heat, detoxicate. Its main function was cure Swollen boils.

Harmful impacts

There are not many harmful affects of epiphyllum, the only thing was the stomach trouble patient cannot eat epiphyllum.

Conclusion

Epiphyllum was a good plant to grow. The flower was pretty and it has effect on cough. Because epiphyllum was belongs to Cactaceae, therefore epiphyllum was easy to grow. Nowadays, everywhere can grow epiphyllum. In Chinese there was an idiom describe the epiphyllum called Tan Hua Yi Xian. Epiphyllum also has the value of medical.